Origin of Good
by PreseatheKitsune
Summary: An Origin story that combines Myth and Game to tell the story about Amaterasu's birth, her family, and the creation of the Brush Gods.


Well, hello all my readers. Yeah, I know I promised more Trauma Team Fanfiction after my last one-shot, but this had been bugging me for a while. I joined an RP community a while ago on Live Journal and play Amaterasu. Yes, Amaterasu… from Okami. Anyway, I was hunting for icons and just had to ask: Where did all the gods come from? Did she make them like the others? Were they made by Izanagi? Are they merely parts of her broken away after the battle with True Orochi?

Obviously, this story will mostly be head canon and draw from several Japanese websites on how Amaterasu was born and became the god she is in Okami. Also, yes, Mythology crossings; beware.

oOoOoOo

Origin of Good

Prologue

oOoOoOo

Before life, there was the world; before the world, there was chaos. It was from this chaos the world came into being and it was from this world, Heaven, Earth, and Kami came into existence. From the chaotic Earth, Kunitokotachi came into being, born from something like a reed. From the Takamagahara above, Amenominakanushi came into being as well. They were the pivotal force driving forward the Earth's growth. As two of the three kami of creation and Amenominakanushi, being of the five Kotoamatsukami, they went on to create the first life and the first deities. Two central figures of their creation were Izanagi-no-Mikoto (Izanagi-no-Okami) and Izanami-no-Mikoto (Izanami-no-Okami).

Charged to create the first land, Izanagi and Izanami were giving the Ame-no-nuboko, the heavenly spear. They stood upon the bridge between Heaven and Earth and churned the sea with the spear. As they raised the spear from the salty waters, drops that held fast fell onto the surface and created Onogoroshima. Together, the two descended to live while creation continued further away. It wasn't long after that they wished to wed.

They were instructed to build a pillar, the Ame-no-mihashira, and walk around it. When they met on the other side, one would speak and they would be wedded. Around Izanagi and Izanami went, meeting on the opposite and they stood, gazing at one another, uncertain who should greet first. Izanami spoke up and immediately, Izanagi felt something off, but chose to ignore it. They had two children together after the union and discovered the error. Because Izanami had spoken first, the ceremony had been done incorrectly and thus, both children had been born deformed.

Setting the two children adrift into the sea by boat, Izanagi and Izanami questioned the other deities, asking where the flaw was made. The others answered, telling the two how Izanagi should have spoken up first. The error could be corrected, but they had to walk around the pillar again. Of course, when they met on the opposite side, Izanagi was able to greet Izanami first. With the marriage corrected, the two happily continued on, creating in their union the eight great islands that would later become the land of Nippon along with six lesser islands and other deities. It is upon heavy heart that this tale must turn, that it must become twisted and chaos return, that a land not mentioned will soon be brought into light.

Izanagi and Izanami were expectant of their next child, quite the wily one too, but here the pain begins; the suffering of those yet to live must start. Izanami suffered severely, like never before in her eternal life and Izanagi could only watch, horrified as she died before him, giving birth to Kagu-Tsuchi, the incarnation of fire. In his grief, Izanagi beheaded the child and cut him to pieces, creating volcanoes while the infant's blood created more deities. No more of the world was created and the cycle of death started to turn. Izanami was buried at Mt. Hiba, but Izanagi couldn't stand her being gone. He had to try saving her; he had to try bringing her back to the realm of the living…

He decided to venture into Yomi, the shadowy land of the dead.

Thus, our story can truly begin…

oOoOoOo

"Izanami… you didn't mean those words, did you? Will you really take the lives of those you helped create?" Izanagi whispered as he rested his forehead against the massive boulder. He could no longer here her voice behind it; the underworld was sealed… for now anyway. His blazing golden eyes closed and he let out a weary breath.

"_You promised! You're such a fool, Izanagi! You always have been! I will destroy 1,000 residents of the living each day for this!"_

"It didn't have to be like this… I do vow to create 1,500 lives for each 1,000 you destroy…" he murmured. His hand balled into a fist and he turned, walking away from the boulder. He gazed over the desolate wasteland that had been teeming with life what only seemed like minutes ago. It smelled vilely like Yomi, the wafting aroma of decaying flesh and sulfur coming to his nose no matter where he stepped. The scenery made his stomach churn in horror.

Nothing came at his call and the other gods were strangely silent. Perhaps they ignored him for his foolishness and the curse he allowed upon the world. It ruined everything they had spent years creating. Hmph, then it must be the Elder Gods keeping his brothers and sisters away and even his own kin. Not just his kin: his and Izanami's.

Izanagi shook his head, gritting his teeth and paused. He had feared living eternally without her – now he had no one. The river beside him was still, reflecting his image on its clear surface as he sighed and sat down, hooking his arm around the sacred spear Ame-no-nuboko. A ring of flowers grew beside and out, covering only a 10 foot radius around him. A frown etched his face as he reached to a white flower on the riverbed, gazing at the luminescent petals, but then paused. His eyes widened and he twisted his body, examining his reflection closer.

Passed the dirt and ichor of the Netherworld covering his face, he ran a hand through his hair. Once black, it was now pale, shocked white. It was ghastly, so close to the gray tangled mess that Izanami herself had for the brief moment he saw her. What mockery; what else would he have to suffer for his mistake? Black was mixed in his bleached locks and he glanced at his hands, retching slightly at the unholy black blood still fresh upon him. The same disgusting fluid was soaked deeply into his top robe and exuded a terrible scent. Unsurprisingly, the spear had nothing; it had cleaned itself. Izanagi scowled. Even his weapon was amusing itself.

He removed his outer robe, dipping it into the water. The purified stream made quick work of the blood, leaving his robe clean as the day it was woven. He set it aside carefully upon the bed of flowers as he proceeded to cleaning himself now. As Izanagi did so, he realized what he need; nay, what the land and the other gods needed. The Universe was starting to turn on this world; they needed gods that could hold its favor.

Cleansing his face, he felt some of his limited strength abandon him and blinding light emerge forth. The sky, clouded, seemed to open. Warm rays came to brighten the bleak land and he raised his eyes. The sun blazed gloriously far in the sky and besides it was the whiteness of the moon, shimmering with content. Nearby, the clouds remained, swirling and thundering, yet no rain came forth yet; they hovered with warning though of the imminent storm brewing. Izanagi rubbed his eyes and nose. This was just a reminder of the work he needed to proceed wi—

He withdrew his hand as he reached for his robe, staring in fascination. Three tiny yet powerful forms were curled up on his robes. They were infantile and sleeping, unaware of anything until he moved closer. The first to awaken had black hair and red eyes; for a deity so small, the young male still appeared fierce. It didn't cry, but growled, gnashing a full set of tiny teeth at the old god. Izanagi did not want to touch him for fear of losing a finger. Warily, he gazed towards the child on the opposite side. This other son – he could say it was his son – had golden hair like the sun, but a strange coolness from his icy silver eyes. Unlike the red-eyed boy, he made no noise at all. Instead, it just watched Izanagi, tiny fingers holding onto the hand beside its own.

That drew Izanagi's eyes to the last child; a little girl. Her hair was pale white, almost comparable to the moon, but as she yawned, it gleamed brightly, giving off warmth his blond son lacked. She gazed curiously back at Izanagi with golden eyes, trying to figure out who he was. Unlike her prone siblings, she uncurled and kicked before proceeding to making a strange whining sound.

The longer the old god gazed at them, the longer he thought. They were his children, but still unlike his others. The others had been born mostly grown, their powers decided and their tasks ready to be given. These ones were just as strong, but still somehow incomplete. This was a problem. He couldn't possibly raise all three; he had never _needed _to raise any. One would be enough, but this would undoubtedly be a struggle were he to try.

Izanagi raised himself from the river, frowning as he picked up his spear. This would be for the best…

He raised it, blade to the sky, and swirled round and round. His strength ebbed out, but the stars still twinkling above began to follow his motion, spinning into a new formation. Izanagi didn't watch the stars themselves, but the reflection in the river. Faster and faster the stars span until finally, he swung down, cutting into the water. An unpleasant roar echoed, raising startled cries from the infants, but he just stepped back, resting his spear as it emerged. His gaze was cool, strict, but not entirely judgmental as a clawed talon helped hoist the long, serpentine body onto the land. Twisted horns pointed to the sky and long whiskers rose as the water dripped away. It hissed lowly, tail flicking irritably after its rude pull from the sky.

"Cease that noise and take a smaller form before I must force one upon you," Izanagi warned. He needn't say more as the creature cocked its head, thinking of what he meant. He moved his children onto the flower bed and threw his top robe on again while the body behind him shifted into a new form. As thought, he had to pull his hand away from the red-eyed boy as he attempted to bite.

"You cut me from the river and then demand I take such crude form. You have such nerve after your foolish actions, Izanagi-sama."

Izanagi stood, holding his only daughter in his arms and turned around, glowering at the man now standing there. The horns and lengthy whiskers remained, but were shortened to a size that fit with the smaller stature. His robes were all of earth tones, layered upon his shoulders and reaching down to his feet.

"I have need of you unless you want me to kill a proud creature such as yourself..." Izanagi threatened. The horned man's heavy eyebrow twitched at that, but he gave no retort. The spear had cut him out from mere reflection; there was no chance were it to be used on him directly.

"… What is it you want of me then?"

"You will watch over my daughter until she understands her powers," he ordered, handing his daughter over. At this, the man had to pull a double take.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You… brought me to this physical plain to babysit? Why not do it yourself? Or does she remind you too much of Izana-"

"Hold your tongue!" Izanagi snapped, glaring, "You're a beast of great wisdom; it should be obvious why I chose you. Let's not see it wasted because you tried to defy me."

Once again, the horned man fell silent. Izanagi busily gathered up the other two, cautious so his hand wouldn't be bitten viciously in the process.

"… What is her name?" the horned man finally asked.

Izanagi turned, pausing. He had been so busy considering what to do that he'd forgotten to name any of them. His eye darted to the girl and watched as she just grabbed at bunches of her caretaker's robes and let go, curious at the effect. So entertained was she that she hadn't noticed the change of hands too much.

"… Amaterasu."

"Amaterasu?"

Izanagi gave a firm nod, "Take care of her. She is young now, but there is much expected of her. I will return when that time comes."

The horned man simply nodded and looked down at the young goddess while Izanagi left with his two sons.

"Amaterasu, hm?" he muttered. The little girl blinked and looked up at him, tilting her head with a slightly perplexed expression on her face. He took the chance to look around now with a low rumble in his chest. This was going to be difficult… and she had quite the name to live up to.

oOoOoOo

Time for some notes.

First, some of the terms that could use some explaining:

Amenominakanushi: The first kami to come into being on the Takamagahara or the Celestial Plain.

Kunitokotachi: One of the two kami born from the chaotic earth. The other I am still looking into, but Kunitokotachi played a role in shaping the world.

Kotoamatsukami: The collective name for the five first powers that came into being when the universe was created. They're all born in Takamagahara and are Amenominakanushi (Central Master), Takamimusubi (High creation), Kamimusubi (Divine creation), and a bit later Umashiashikabihikoji (Energy) and Amenotokotachi (Heaven). (Info from Wikipedia) They went on to become other deities.

Onogoroshima: A mythical island in Japanese myth that Izanagi and Izanami created together. They lived there and were wedded there as well.

Ame-no-mihashira: The Pillar of Heaven. Izanagi and Izanami were required to build this pillar and walk around it. When they met on the other side, they were to be wedded… of course, correctly after Izanagi spoke up.

Second, character explanation:

Yomigami: I'm not sure how he was born or created, but I always saw him as Amaterasu's caretaker and the closest to her so perhaps he was one of the first Brush Gods by her side (well, he isn't a brush god yet). Right now, it doesn't seem that he likes her, but we'll get to work on that over the chapters.

Izanagi: Mhm, he's usually portrayed with black hair in art work, but having it shocked white after his whole venture into Yomi kinda makes sense. He's a powerful guy, but he hesitates and does lots of things he shouldn't, but even Gods aren't the perfect beings... despite being gods. He's never mentioned too much within any of Amaterasu's stories (most likely because she was actually born full grown), but for the sake of fanfiction, he basically excused himself and left her in the care of a being he 'created'/forced to Earth.

Izanami: Yea, yea, I might be too much of an SMT fan. I always think of her something like Izanami in Persona 4 currently, but, of course, when Izanagi sees her, she has that rotting appearance right now. Her chances of appearing at all in this is extremely low.

Amaterasu: No wolf-like features. That will be addressed so don't ask me where are her ears and tail please. When gijinka'd from the game, she's portrayed with white or bright silver hair and black eyes. I change her eye color because… well, sumi-e art style doesn't allow for art color and black just doesn't actually seem her? I don't know; just me maybe.

Tsukuyomi/Tsukiyomi: Blond hair, silver eyes… opposite of Amaterasu with her silver hair and gold eyes. He'll be back in the future and so will Susano-o.

Susano-o: So many ways to spell his name. Yes, black hair and red eyes. He's the wild child who will be back later too when the time comes.

Anyway, as I said, this is an experiment. I might continue it; I might not, it all depends on the feedback. Thank you.


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